At the Oklahoma State Capitol today, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Kylee Deniz with the Oklahoma Pork Council to discuss the celebration of National Champion livestock exhibitors at the Capitol.

Cattle, Sheep, Goat, and, of course, pig exhibitors who won championships throughout the year were invited by Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur to a tour of the Oklahoma State Capitol to meet various legislators and Governor Kevin Stitt.

“I showed pigs a little bit growing up,” Deniz said. “There was nothing like this when I was a kid. These kids are experiencing something very special and I think, unique to Oklahoma.”

Although Deniz didn’t have an official tally of how many kids made the trek to the Capitol, she said four of the ten qualified pig showmen were there.

“The students that are here today won at a national level so to see these kids be successful beyond our state lines is incredible,” she remarked proudly.

The Oklahoma Pork Council often invests generously in its youth. Deniz commented, “That is one of our strategic intentions. If we can do right by the next generation, in terms of engagement and education, and train them to be our future leaders – to take my job – then that’s winning.”

The Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program knows this is a hard time for farmers and ranchers. We want you to know we are still open, and we are still here for you. The Ag Mediation program is a free service that provides mediation to agriculture producers who may need help with ag-related disputes.

At Oklahoma Ag Mediation, we have been helping people in agriculture resolve conflicts since 1987. We know firsthand about working together to resolve conflicts, so you don’t have to go through the court systems. Let our professional mediators help you. Mediation is allowed for lease issues, farmer/neighbor disputes, family farm transitions, and more. These services are available at no cost for Oklahoma farmers and ranchers in all 77 counties. For more information, you can go to ok.gov/mediation, or give us a call at 800 248 5465.



At the recent Trust In Beef event, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, caught up with Senior Director of Sustainable Food Strategy at Tyson Foods Dr. Justin Ransom to talk about Tyson Foods’ efforts to create climate-smart beef.

This is the second part of Hays’s conversation with Dr. Ransom. Part one can be found here.

A little over a year ago, Tyson Foods rolled out Brazen Beef. Dr. Ransom says that product introduction taught them a lot. “When we first started, we really thought we were going to create a brand that would take off at a consumer level,” he said. “The reality is that consumers are interested, but they don’t know enough. They are wondering what am I going to cook tonight in the next five minutes, not the decision about making an environmental purchase.”

Dr. Ransom said that once Tyson Foods understood what drove consumer’s decisions, they began working with their distributors to help them meet their own goals to reduce emissions.

Early Southwest Oklahoma Milo Harvest- Too Hot- Too Dry

From our friend Matt Muller's Facebook page- a too early milo harvest in Jackson County on the last day of July- Matt says it was the result of the hot weather with no rain for 60 days at his location.

Yield was disappointing- it was in the 45-50 bushel per acre range.

But Matt says he's blessed that it made what it did.

Exploring the Versatility of Soybeans: Innovations and Uses with Rick Reimer

While attending the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Convention, Intern Kate Munson caught up with Executive Director of the Oklahoma Soybean Board Rick Reimer to talk about the variety of products that soybeans are being used in.

“The best thing about soybeans is that they are continuously coming up with new things that they can be used in, and that is a result of the Soybean Checkoff, which funds New Uses Research. We call soybeans the miracle crop of many uses,” Reimer said.

Soybeans are a summer crop.. Soybean meal is used primarily for livestock feed. Soybean oil can be used in cosmetics, paints, plastics, fuels, and many other things. “There is just no end to the things you can do with soybeans,” he said.

So far 2024 has been a good year in the soybean industry, according to Reimer. Soybeans are a summer crop and require a bit of rain in July and August which has been granted in Oklahoma this year. The state cultivates roughly 600,000 acres of soybeans.

Noble Research Institute (Noble) and Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation (MTBC) have entered a collaboration to explore the role and ability of bats as an alternative pest management strategy in agriculture. From its work, the partnership will disseminate information and educational materials to equip farmers and ranchers with the ability to incorporate bats into their operations.

This new partnership complements Noble’s research into the impacts of soil health-building land management practices in farming and ranching operations and furthers MTBC’s mission to “inspire bat conservation worldwide.”

The growing conversation in agriculture surrounding bats’ role in supporting ecosystem services in farming and ranching operations has strengthened the need for further research. With the intention of building broader collaborations with universities and public and private partners, the organizations will identify whether bats can serve as a sustainable alternative to chemical pest control in pecan orchards and grazingland settings.

In the decade ahead, fast prep time, easy-to-prepare, single-serve packaging and other time savers will be priorities for Gen Z and younger Millennials who buy fresh chicken, according to research presented at the 2024 Chicken Marketing Summit. More than two-thirds (71%) of consumers surveyed said they now spend more than 30 minutes preparing a typical evening meal. Gen Z spends the most time preparing dinner, with almost a third spending an hour or more on a typical evening meal.

67% of Gen Z say that fast prep will be a priority in five years. “Beyond speed, Gen Z indicates a future need for advance meal prep, global flavors and minimal clean-up,” according to Joyce Neth, WATT Global Media. “Meal kits, packaging that offers no mess and labels with information on nutrition are especially appealing to Gen Z who in five years will likely be in a different stage of lifestyle, balancing work and families.

The National Chicken Council (NCC) and WATT Global Media presented the results of a study that focused on current and anticipated U.S. consumer behavior, specifically, to better understand the consumer of 2035 with regards to consumption of fresh chicken and other proteins. Circana provided supporting data from its retail databases. The results compared and contrasted generational cohorts, spanning ages 18-67, and suggested several opportunities for chicken to maintain customer satisfaction through 2035.

The study was commissioned by NCC and conducted online by Circana June 28 – July 5, 2024, among 620 U.S. adults. Funding was provided by Elanco Animal Health, Evonik Animal Nutrition, NCC and WATT Global Media. A full copy of the presentation is available by clicking here. 

At the urging of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), a newly published U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study found zero Trichinella positives in more than 3.2 million pork samples, demonstrating to domestic and global consumers the safety of U.S. pork. 

“USDA scientists have confirmed that U.S. pork producers’ rigorous biosecurity efforts to keep pigs healthy are working,” said NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “Because of decades of pork industry research and hard work on the farm, consumers can continue to be confident that the pork on their dinner table is safe to eat.”

U.S. pork producers participate in the robust Pork Quality Assurance® Plus (PQA Plus) certification program for continuous improvement, including biosecurity practices to prevent on-farm exposure to wildlife and rodents, the main sources of Trichinella in pigs.

Trading partners have long restricted access for U.S. pork because of Trichinella concerns, as the U.S. did not have surveillance data to prove there was a negligible risk for Trichinella in the domestic swine herd. As a result of NPPC’s persistence over the past decade, this USDA study validates the safety of U.S. pork.